A Single Red Alibi by Jude Hardin

Author:Jude Hardin [Hardin, Jude]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

11

RADKO

It’s still dark outside when I wake up.

5:42 a.m. according to the digital clock on the nightstand.

I slept almost seven hours. Never took my clothes off. Never got under the covers. I need to brush my teeth. And take a shower. I need to scrub every bit of yesterday off my body.

The television is still on. Some kind of local news show. They’re talking to a Nashville woman about her backyard vegetable garden. I yawn and rub my eyes and sit up on the side of the bed. I hardly ever go to sleep stone cold sober. It feels pretty good. But I don’t want to make a habit of it. I smile at that and stand and stretch and walk over to the table and check my laptop.

Pelham Prottleman’s profile is complete. And it’s a doozy. Multiple criminal charges, multiple convictions. He served time for assault and battery, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, burglary, and possession of an illegal firearm. Four separate incarcerations, each lasting less than six months. He’d been arrested for some other unlawful acts through the years, several felonies and several misdemeanors, starting from the time he turned nineteen to just a few months ago. Most of the charges were dismissed on technicalities or bargained down to lesser offenses. He paid some fines. Did some time on house arrest. Did some community service. He must have had a good lawyer. And of course there’s no telling how many crimes he committed that went undetected. Maybe dozens. Maybe hundreds.

His job history is sketchy, to say the least, so he must have been doing something to generate some cashflow during his gaps in employment. Probably something illegal. Probably something to do with drugs. That would be my guess. Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He did time for that five years ago. Maybe he was dealing again. Maybe he never stopped. Maybe he was hustling the stuff he smoked in the hotel room. Crystal meth. And maybe Scottleby was in on it. Maybe they were doing pretty well at it. Maybe business was booming. He certainly had a big wad of cash in his pocket. I doubt if he hit the lottery or won it all at the track.

Of course I don’t know anything for sure yet. Just throwing some ideas around. Brainstorming. Spitballing. Because, as a general rule, people you’re not acquainted with don’t randomly knock on your door and waltz into your room and shoot you dead. As a general rule, people who knock on your door and waltz into your room and shoot you dead are people you know. People you’ve pissed off in one way or another. Or people who were hired by people you’ve pissed off in one way or another. People you’ve sold something to, or bought something from, or formed some kind of partnership with. So it seems quite possible that drugs were involved. It would make perfect sense.

And if you had a secret

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